That's us burling down the backroad to the CAR PARK where I needed to drop off the Cherub ten minutes ago. He has an urgent appointment with the Duke of Edinburgh Team. Not satisfied with an earlier attempt which was rained off (Scottish summers... fill in your own thoughts here...), my baby is off camping again. A bus with him and twenty of his dearest pals is off to Aberfoyle for the weekend. Last time they tried this they were flooded out and had to return home at 2 in the morning. This time they will get that Bronze award or... or I dunno develop some kind of fungal rot in the attempt.

I'm also threatening to HUG him before I let him go on the bus. Even if I don't get to hug him, it's fun threatening, just to see him change colour at the very thought....

The bus is already there when we get to the car park.... so I have to let him off sharpish so he can catch up with his mates whilst I park. I can catch up. I have time to embarrass him.

Except when I do get to catch up I can't find him. And I can't find any of his pals either; wee Cam and Stu are not there. Forrie I know had dropped out, but where were Mark and Malc?

And The Cherub??

The car park is just full of swarms of youth. Not all of whom have hoodies, but y'know... they're all Big Kids. Great big hulking teenagers, with great deep voices and matching attitude. And that's the boys. The girls??
Frankly the girls scare me even more. The Cherub should not be heading off with twenty or so FHM supermodels.

But wait, one of the big tall lads is waving at me and giving me a thumbs up. It's not... wee Cam.....? But before the summer wee Cam was wee enough to be officially smaller than me. Now "Wee" Cam looks like he's not far short of six feet. So the blonde haired guy behind him is... Stuie??? Even wee Stu's filled out enough to at least look like he could carry a rucksack.

Well that's my baby - the one with the ginger blonde hair. The one with the broad shoulders and big shy smile. He's one of the big kids now.

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39 Response to "He's playing with the big kids now"

Oh I know JUST how you're feeling. Rory is bone idle so doesn't do Duke of Edinburgh but I know what you mean about seeing a sea of teenagers and realiisng they are all growing up. Rory has a pal called Sam who is also wee (wee sam?) and yes, even his voice is breaking now. And the girls???!! Those lithe limbs - thye are all legs, aren't they.

Honey, you and me both. I thanked every deity I could think of when I had a boy, teenaged girls are SCARY.

Yeah, I totally get your shock. My baby is 17, learning to drive, has a girlfriend and is talking about uni.

I still look at him and his mates and go 'WTF'? How did that happen? I've talked to other mothers, they also say the same. Maybe we stop saying it when the children give us the granbabies, I suspect not.

When I collected my younger son from camp they said they were very worried about him as he hadn't eaten all week-end.When I saw the trestle tables with the food laid out I understood why. I had always told then never to eat anything a fly had been on. Do the biology;)

And something serious - the day job is just this - a day job. Things may seem smooth now and all, but you know that there are snags. Take it easy, one thing at a time. And the job should end when you leave the bureau. Easier saied than done, I know, but don't bring it home. Home is you. And yer son of course, but he's riding bike now ... :)

Jenny - As long as we're never asked to recognise them in a police line up I supppose...

Pat - I made sure he took the hand wash with him.But I shall stock up with immodium for his return.Just in case....

63mago - You are wrong about the bike. One thing I do know is tha the Duke of Edinburgh award involves a lot of pointless walking...You are however, completely right about the work.And you have sussed that work has been creeping into my personal life again.

How can you comment here at nearly 3 in the morning, and then at my place at 8? I know you young people hardly need any sleep, but this is ridiculous. I hope you've not been up all night worrying about your wee bairn.

Yes, big boys (and big girls) can be pretty scary, can't they? So the Cherub is one of the big boys now. I suspect "Cherub" may not be appropriate any longer, except in an ironical sense. Oh, maybe it was ironical to begin with....

I only went camping once, with the Boy Scouts. It rained non-stop for a fortnight. I shall never go camping again.

Nick - Heh heh, yes it was always a wee bit ironical. He was twelve when this blog started. He's just had his fifteenth birthday, so it's getting ridiculously ironical....

I've done my share of camping in the wet and the rain too - and am filled with admiration that the boys are actually going to re-try this after getting flooded out of ther tents during the last attempt.

Well, there is a big problem if there is nothing going on in your house-----In the next couple of years there might be---and it's not you.Oh, public hugs are now out of the question for the next 5 years at least

Staying up late isn't normal at all. For thousands of years our ancestors went to bed when it got dark, and woke up when the sun rose. It's only the invention of atificial lighting, and especially the electric light, that allows us to change our patterns.

Bring back living in caves, I say. And the sabre-toothed tiger. Those were the days.

For thousands of years my ancestors turned in their beds when those nerve whacking early uprisers jumped off their couches and started their daily whatever. Mostly noisy activities, outdoors. Oh Herr ...

Ms Curry - I know. I know. I should have trained him better. Too late now...

Dave & 63mago I love the way you've been having your own wee conversation through here! Can I get anybody a cup of tea or anything?63Mago Are your nocturnal habits a side effect of being self employed do you think? If it wasn't for the day job I'd probably be up through the night.

Dave - No... The nights are drawing in. I noticed it was getting dark about 9 or so the other night.Somewehre out there, there's going to be a bunch of amateur astronomers who are actualy happy about this.

Welcome to the car crash...

I have a complicated bereavement. I was only reconciled with my ex, W, months before he died of cancer. Luckily (for him) I was made redundant and able to care for him while he died here at home - October 20th.Currently getting through it with our son, aka the Cherub, dog Ned, and friends here in CHEESETOWN.